CDC Offers Guidance for Public in Light of Increased Rodent Encounters

Many residents of Jersey City had an unpleasant encounter with the reality of the rodent population of their area when the 2020 economic slowdown and the lockdown of the restaurant industry drove the rat and mouse populations into homes in search of food. 

New York City has consistently ranked among the most rodent populated cities in the United States, taking third place in 2020 surpassed only by L.A. and Chicago! The surge of rodent populations spells an increase in exterminator services carried out in the city, good news for those in the pest control industry but perhaps not as pleasant for those who have found unwelcome pests intruding into their homes.

This trend of increased business applies not only to Jersey City and the broader New York City area but in cities all over the nation as people's traffic patterns and living arrangements continue to shift as a result of the pandemic. Alongside the rise of complaints of contact with rodents and humans will necessarily come the risk of rodent borne diseases. The Centers for Disease Control offers some guidelines which can assist both exterminators and the general public in avoiding contraction of any such rodent borne pathogens or diseases.

The most effective way to avoid contact with rodents is to rid your environment of the conditions which allow rodents to thrive. Garbage, dead vegetation, or and exposed basements, sheds, crawl spaces or other hospitable places can attract rodents and should be well sealed and weatherproofed. Garbage should always be kept in tightly closed containers until it is picked up.

Another important method for protecting against rodent borne disease is to properly clean up after rodents which have been found. The CDC offers guidance on properly sanitizing and cleaning up rat nests.